


What Lies Underneath

by Swimmergirl



Series: Bonding Moments [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Fluff and Angst, Forgive Me, Gay Keith (Voltron), Haggar wants revenge, Hurt Lance (Voltron), Hypnotism, I will write something other than Klance one day. Maybe., Injury, Insecure Lance (Voltron), Light Angst, M/M, Mind Control, Mind Manipulation, My First Fanfic, Self-Sacrifice, klance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-08
Updated: 2018-06-01
Packaged: 2019-05-04 03:24:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14583897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Swimmergirl/pseuds/Swimmergirl
Summary: “It seems your lion prevents any direct manipulation of your memories. Despite being the weak link, you do have a strong bond with your team.”Lance permitted himself to release a tiny sigh of relief.“However” the witch continued “that doesn’t mean I can’t turn you against them.”Lance is captured in a mission to rescue an important alien ruler. Keith is panicking as the team desperately try to locate him. Meanwhile, Haggar attempts to turn the Blue Paladin against those he gave himself up to protect.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I’m Swimmergirl, and this is my first fanfic on here! I’m very excited to Start posting my work here. Comments are greatly appreciated! Forgive all my Typos in advance. Please be nice I’m just a beginner. Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoy!
> 
> -Swimmer

Of all the things Lance wanted to be doing today, shooting down countless waves of Robotic Sentries was not on that list. Especially when you’re trying to cover Hunk, who was leading a small fluffy alien down the dimly lit hall of the battleship onto the yellow lion. The small pink creature was the ruler of a planet of hyper intelligent beings who would be a valuable asset to the rebellion. It was supposed to be a simple retrieval mission. Get in, free the leader, form Voltron, and save the day. Maybe sign a few autographs once the grateful locals joined the fight. The last thing he expected was for there to be this many troops on a single ship.

“Geez, how important is this guy?” Lance said to Pidge as she slid past him to slice into a nearby attacker with her Bayard. 

“Really, REALLY important apparently!” She replied, turning to face another solider. Lance’s eyes widened in horror as he locked eyes with a sentry holding a blaster above the green paladin, ready to strike. 

“Pidge, duck!” Lance shouted. She instantly followed his instructions as a blast entered the Drone’s chest. It stumbled backwards before collapsing onto the metallic floor with a *clang*

“Thanks Lance!” Pidge said, flashing him a quick smile before running over to assist Shiro in combating another wave of Sentries

Lance let out a quick sigh of relief. That was too close for comfort. He didn’t have time to relax as he heard the echo of a ball of energy right behind him. His pulse began to accelerate again as he swiveled around, nearly bumping into the figure standing there. 

“Careful, Lance!” Keith shouted as he held his shield out in front of him, absorbing an onslaught of gunfire. 

“Oh come on, I totally could have handled it!” Lance smirked. Keith rolled his eyes and smiled softly. The pair continued to watch each other’s backs. Together, the team managed to take out almost all of the attacking Sentries. 

 

 

“No! Stop him!” Pidge’s scream caught Keith off guard as they spotted a figure running past them, communicator in hand. Pidge was in close pursuit. She leapt onto the robot and drove her Bayard into it, sending a violent shock through the machine. Green lighting sprung from its convulsing form as Pidge quickly hopped off. The final robot fell and Pidge grabbed the device it was holding. She grimaced as she turned to the remaining Paladins. 

“It got an alert through. The commander will be here any second. We have to go, now!” Shiro nodded before gesturing to the hall that led to their lions. Keith turned toward Lance, who was wiping a small strip of sweat off his forehead. Keith’s Bayard returned to its normal state, when he saw the brunette’s eyes enlarge slightly. He wore an expression Keith couldn’t read. There was something in Lance’s eyes, something Keith had never seen before. He didn’t have time to process it as he felt two hands pressing hard onto his shoulders. 

“Get down!” Keith barely had time to register Lance’s cry before he felt himself smash into the cold floor. That was definitely gonna bruise. He looked up at Lance, ready to tear him a new one. Instead, he had just enough time to glance up at the Blue Paladin. Right as a neon yellow blast entered his side. 

“Lance!” Keith shouted as he scrambled to his feet. Lance had been blasted several feet backwards as he clutched the wound with his hand. Keith panicked when he turned to see the Sentry that had fired the shot. It was busted, but had managed to reach and fire a blaster. 

Shiro bolted past Keith, hand glowing a threatening purple to deliver the final blow. Knowing the drone was taken care of, Keith immediately directed his attention back to Lance, trying to calm his heartbeat, which was threatening to pound out of his chest. Lance was sprawled on his side across the room. His hand was laid over the injured area, but Keith could tell it was bleeding. Luckily, the blast didn’t seem to be too major. Still, Keith flinched when he heard a soft moan of pain escape Lance. 

Keith prepared to sprint for the injured Paladin, when he saw something that made him stop dead in his tracks. Lance was lying at the feet of a smirking Galra commander. 

 

 

Well this was just great. Lance pondered his current situation as he struggled to keep himself focused on anything but the inferno that was his side. 

“Ok,” Lance thought to himself “I’m laying on the floor, and everyone is freaking out because...” Oh. Right. He got shot. He looked down at his armor to asses the damage. The blast had managed to penetrate it, leaving the usually white armor singed and blackened. Luckily, it seemed to have absorbed the worst of the damage. Lance felt sick as he examined the thick red liquid that was on his hand. He felt light headed, but told himself this was nothing a couple Vargas in the hearing pods couldn’t fix. Let’s just get back to the ship and- 

“Lance, hang on!” Keith’s voice broke Lance’s train of thought. Stupid Mullet couldn’t see the drone behind him. Still, Lance didn’t regret pushing him down. Keith was strong, gifted, skilled, and important. All things that he wasn’t. Lance propped himself onto his forearms, attempting to get back onto his feet. He raised his eyes to his teammates. They all looked petrified. Lance wondered if his injury really looked that bad? He tried to adjust himself again when he felt a sharp pain pierce his side as a boot slammed into it. Lance let out a small scream as he collapsed back onto the ground. He rolled onto his back, coming face to face with the Galra standing above him. The commander had a smug look spread across his face, and he proceeded to kick Lance again. Oh quiznak, it hurt. Lance wanted to scream. He wanted to cry. But he knew he had to be strong, for his team. He bit back screams and grit his teeth as each blow came crashing down. 

“Stop it!” Pidge shouted angrily. Lance groaned as he felt himself being violently jerked onto his feet. He began to shake as he felt his legs give way, sending his body weight downward. His fall was cut off by the massive commander gripping his arm and lifting him into the air. Lance felt tears bite at the corners of his eyes as he tried to ignore the searing pain coursing through his entire being. He couldn’t stop himself from letting out the smallest whimper. 

“Leave him alone!” Lance mustered the effort to open his eyes slightly and see Keith and the other Paladins summon their Bayards as they prepared to charge at the Galra. 

“Let him go. Now.” Shiro threatened menacingly. 

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Paladin.” The commander replied. Lance grunted as he struggled to keep his vision focused on his teammates. His attention was quickly directed to the glistening silver blade that was held against his throat. Honestly Lance would have been more concerned if he wasn’t continuously battling to stay conscious. Through the haze of his vision, he managed to make out the other Paladins stepping back in desperation. Keith, as usual, caught Lance’s eye. He. Was. Fuming. He was gripping his weapon so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. Despite his rage, Lance could have sworn he saw an ocean of fear behind those indigo eyes. Lance felt himself being shaken again. A drowsy glance upward confirmed that it was not the Galra, but the ship itself that was quaking. The look on Keith’s face informed Lance exactly what the cause was. 

“Red is coming, and-” Keith’s statement was cut off by a chunk of the roof falling behind the Paladins. Pidge let out a small yelp as she turned to face the sudden noise. 

“Ready my pod.” The Galra ordered into the radio he retrieved from his uniform.  
“And inform Haggar we have an... unexpected guest.”

Lance endured another wave of pain as the Galra swung him into the nearby wall. Hard. He couldn’t even muster to energy to cry out as his head collided with the metal. His ears rang as the room began to blur and dim. He couldn’t prevent his eyelids from slowly closing as he felt his exhausted body go limp. The last thing he heard was someone’s hoarse voice screaming his name before his head gently lulled backwards and the darkness overtook him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the kudos and nice comments! Even the little comments make my day. I’m trying to upload a chapter a week.

Keith was panicking. As he paced back and forth along the sleek castle floor, he kept shooting anxious glares at Pidge and Allura. The duo was positioned at the front of the ship. Allura swiped across the translucent screen that displayed a large map of the galaxy. Pidge was frantically typing into her laptop. 

Occasionally, Pidge would let out a frustrated grunt as the device made a disappointing buzz. 

Keith tightly bit his lip to prevent himself from taking his frustration out on them. He gazed over at Shiro, who was sitting with Hunk observing the activity as well. 

“Ugh!” Pidge finally broke these silence as she slammed her palms down onto the sides of her chair. 

“I can’t find him! I can’t find anything! There’s nothing in my database that matches anything he has on him! If only I could get a digital read on something that only Lance would have. Then we could run a scan and track it’s signature. But I can’t! I can’t do it!” 

“Pidge.” Shiro rested a hand on the green paladin’s shoulder. “I know you’re worried. We all are. But you’ll never be able to think straight if you let your frustration get to you.” He gave her a comforting smile as she took a deep breath and nodded softly before continuing to type. 

“And Keith” The Red Paladin stopped pacing and turned to Shiro in surprise. He grit his teeth as he prepared for the inevitable lecture he was going to get. 

It was his fault after all. As he approached A waiting Shiro the thoughts ran through his head. Each one getting faster and more painful than the last. Maybe if he hadn’t been so clueless he would have seen the shot coming. Maybe if he had just made sure the drone was busted instead of leaving it like an idiot, it wouldn’t have been able to fire. Maybe if he hadn’t let his shield down Lance wouldn’t have-

Lance. Lance took the hit. He could have let Keith get shot, but he didn’t. Keith tried to tell himself that he didn’t feel things for Lance. He didn’t like the person who never failed to make Keith smile with his lame jokes and clear, beautiful, laugh. He never felt butterflies in his stomach the way his ocean blue eyes sparkled every time he talked about Earth or his family. He definitely didn’t love the boy who cared so much for those around him that he’d gladly take the fall for them. Every single time. Not that it mattered what Keith felt. Lance wasn’t interested. He made that clear every time he took a jab at Keith, or started a fight, or stared at him when he though Keith wasn’t looking. Keith sighed as he remembered now wasn’t the time for a self-pity session. 

Keith finally made eye contact with Shiro. There was no judgement, no malice painted on his face. Just worry. Worry for the fates of his teammates. He had lost his crew before. He was petrified of it happening again. He gently pat the area next to him, signaling for Keith to join him and Hunk. Letting out a reluctant sigh, he took a seat with his fellow Paladins. There was a peaceful scilence and understanding between them. They were all scared. Terrified, even. Keith’s pulse was still beating a hundred times a minute whenever he even considered what Zarkon could be doing to Lance. But the physical toll of the mission was wearing down on them all. And there was nothing they could do now, but wait. Keith knew they’d have a better change to rescue him if they rested now. He slowly allowed himself to relax as he leaned into Hunk’s shoulder and fell into an unrestful slumber. 

 

Darkness. It was a familiar feeling. Keith swung his head around, searching for anything to cut trough the suffocating blackness that was drowning him. The tiniest glimmer caught his eye. The fluorescent blue color shifted and morphed, growing into an all too familiar shape. Lance. 

Before Keith could react His eyes shifted to see a thick red liquid pouring out of Lance’s body. 

“W-what?” Keith stepped back in horror. Oh god, there was so much of it. He couldn’t even tell where it was coming from. A grunt escaped Keith as he felt his back slam into something. He turned, but there was nothing there. Still, he was unable to move past that area. His attention was directed back to Lance when he felt the blood lap at his feet, quickly filling the area. Keith cried out as he was swept off of his feet. He began to thrash desperately as he sunk farther and farther into the liquid. He felt his lungs begin to burn as they longed for air, but were only met with suffocation. In a moment of panic, Keith unwillingly allowed his mouth to open, preparing for the inevitable pain that he would experience. Instead, he felt the sharp pang of oxygen, causing his eyes to shoot open as he gasped for more. 

“Woah, buddy, you ok?” Hunk asked as Keith took in his surroundings. 

“Y-yeah” Keith replied, a little too weakly for his liking. He ran his hand through his hair nervously. “I’m fine.” He bit back the tiny droplets of water that were stinging in the corners of his eyes.

“Guys... you need to see this.” Keith felt relieved as everyone’s attention turned to Pidge as she swiveled her laptop toward group. 

“I finally found something that could be traced back to Lance!”

Keith’s breath hitched as everyone scrambled to the front of the ship. 

“I’ve been running the scan for half a Varga, and there’s only a few ticks left before we can locate him.”

“But what did you use to track him?” Shiro asked, trying to contain his relief and excitement. 

Pidge smirked as she proudly held up her Bayard. 

“Pidge, you little genius, you!!!” Hunk exclaimed giving the Green Paladin one of his trademark bear hugs. 

Keith had never been so proud. They had a chance! They were going to find him. He made a mental note to repay Pidge someday. 

“Hunk- you’re squashing me-“ Pidge squeaked as she wriggled in an attempt to get more oxygen. 

A sudden beep came from the device, as the screen transformed into a fluorescent green color. 

“That’s it... sending coordinates to you, Allura.” Pidge said swiftly punching a series of symbols onto the laptop. 

Allura nodded, displaying the beautiful star system for the Paladins. 

“Alright, according to your data, he should be right... here.” Allura focused the teams attention on a small blue blip that blinked steadily. There was no time to celebrate. Everyone’s faces morphed into terror as the observed the dot’s location. 

Lance was in the middle of the Galra Empire. 

“No...” Was all Keith could manage before he started walking. 

“Keith?” Shiro questioned “What are you-“

“I’m going to get him.” Keith interrupted “What are you all waiting for?”

His eyes widened in shock as everyone else’s gaze lowered away from his. The room was engulfed in an awkward silence before Allura confirmed Keith’s fear. 

“Keith, we can’t.”

Keith tried to repress the anger bubbling inside him as he gritted his teeth in response. 

“Why. Not?”

“You saw the map. He’s in the middle of Galra headquarters. We can’t just rush in there without a well thought out plan. We need time to come up with a strategy. It’s too risky right now.” Allura replied sadly. 

“We don’t have a choice!” Keith shouted, catching Allura by surprise. Her shock morphed into anger as well at Keith’s hostility. 

“That’s not what you said when I was captured by the Galra.” She replied coldly. 

The room went silent. 

A mixture of rage and guilt painted its way across Keith’s face. He lowered his gaze and he angrily stormed out of the room. 

 

 

 

It was the middle of the night as Keith carefully slid open the door to his room. He had avoided everyone the rest of the day, not that they were in any mood to talk to him either. Keith quietly changed into his armor and grabbed the red Bayard. The silent movement of his feet brushed against the castle floor until he reached the bay that held the Red Lion. 

This was crazy. Going out into the middle of Galra headquarters alone with no backup? There was no way this could end well. Keith knew that. He just didn’t care. He took a deep breath as he stepped foot onto the cold metal ramp that led into his lion. 

“Keith, wait.” A soft voice rang out from behind him. He stopped dead in his tracks, turning to face the small figure st adding behind him. 

“Pidge?” Quiznak. Keith’s Brain was flipping through excuses that would convince the Green Paladin that he was, in fact, not going on an insane rescue mission alone on the middle of the night. But he knew Pidge was too smart for that. 

“Don’t try and stop me” Keith grumbled. 

“Im not trying to stop you.” She smirked. “I’m coming with you. And I’m not alone”

Pidge turned away from Keith, nodding at the large figure standing nearby. The bright yellow armor creating a stark contrast with the surrounding darkness. 

“Guys...” Keith struggled with his words as he continued. “You don’t have to-“  
“Keith.” Pidge didn’t let him finish. “I lost a part of my family to the Galra once. I’m not about to let it happen again.”

“Lance was my best friend at the Garrison. I don’t care what anyone else says about him. Let’s get him back.” Hunk confirmed, grabbing Pidge and Keith’s hand. Suddenly another hand latched onto Keith’s Free one. 

“Count me in.” Shiro said, nodding to the rest of the group. 

“I’m so sorry about earlier.” Shiro admitted “You’re right Keith. I know Allura’s just trying to do what’s best for us, but we’re a team. And a team doesn’t leave anyone behind. If we-“

“Shiro, as much as we’d all love a motivational Space Dad speech, we have to get out of here.” Pidge joked. 

Shiro let out a chuckle before everyone spilt up to head for their lions. Keith waited until everyone had gone to continue into red, but Pidge lingered behind. 

“Hey Keith?” She asked quietly 

“Yeah?” He replied. 

“He doesn’t hate you, you know.” She said seriously. “I think you should talk to him. You might be surprised.” She winked, and before Keith could muster a reply, she was gone. 

Keith sighed as he sat down in the Pilot seat of Red. She activated as the two soon joined everyone else outside the castle. 

“Alright team,” Shrio said over the comms. “We go over the plan on the way, since it’s a long flight without a wormhole.” Everyone nodded as Shiro finished. “Let’s get him back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Next time: We check up on Lance.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Sorry for no chapter last week, had to make sure final exams went well. But I’m back to a regular update schedule, and hope you all enjoy!

The first thing Lance felt was cold. A shiver clawed its way up his spine, which was pressed firmly against some hard surface. His head whirled as the remaining senses slowly trickled back into him. He made out an indistinct whispering. His eyes cracked open, attempting to adjust to the sudden change in light. His vision filled with a mixture of purple and black. His memory reminded him why this color scheme sent adrenaline coursing through his veins. He was on a Galra Ship. When the brightness subsided, he could make out the forms of two druids standing in front of him. That couldn’t be good. Instinctively, he tugged at whatever was keeping him suspended vertically against the metal plate. Thick cuffs around his wrists, ankles, and chest make it clear he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. 

“Quiznak...” Lance cursed under his breath. This seemed to catch the attention of both druids, as one pointed to him before nodding at his companion. The other Druid slid eerily across the floor, exiting the room through a large metal door. The remaining figure maneuvered over to a large control panel that Lance was just now noticing. Lance tried to steady his breathing as he pondered his current situation. 

“Ok, I’m on a Galra ship, no one knows where I am, I’m definitely going to be tortured, and who knows if anyone’s coming for me?” He thought, trying really, really hard not to panic. The rational part of him took over, feeding him reassuring thoughts. 

“Calm down, Lance. You know they’ll come for you. The Galra are not going to kill you, a paladin is too valuable. Until then, you have to keep your mouth shut about Voltron.” Lance made the plan with himself, slightly calmer than before. 

“Ok, ok, ok,” he muttered to himself, letting off some nerves in the process. As his did so, the entrance door slid open, revealing a smaller, lean figure. They were draped in dark purple and yellow robes. Long white hair slid out overtop their blue skin. Fear began to return as Lance recognized who now stood mere feet from his helpless self. 

Haggar. 

Well, great. This definitely wasn’t good. Lance flinched as piercing yellow eyes examined him. In an effort to distract himself from all the horrible ways this could end, he began to ramble. 

“Ugh. You do not moisturize do you?” What was that? She’s 10,000 years old of course she doesn’t have a skin care routine. Still, Lance would rather think about cosmetics than the very real possibility of torture. Haggar barely reacted as she continued to inspect his Bayard, which she carefully removed from his armor. 

“Humans are fascinating specimen...” she mused, turning the weapon in her withered hand. 

“What’s more fascinating is how the Galra can stand you’re ugly mug.” Lance retaliated. Not his best work, but not too bad considering the circumstances. 

“Talkative, aren’t you?” The witch growled, turning to glare at her prisoner. 

“Just part of my irresistible personality.” He smirked. 

“Well, If you enjoy talking, tell us what form your Bayard takes.” Haggar looked over at the Druid, who was still positioned behind a metal panel. 

This was it. Lance didn’t want to admit it, but they were interrogating him. The only thing scarier than torture was the possibly that he caved in. Lance thought back to all the smiling faces back on the castle, and how much they meant to him. He wasn’t going to let them down. He promised himself that. 

“Take a guess.” He responded. 

With that, Haggar nodded to the Druid, who flipped a switch on the panel. Lance let out a pained yelp as a small shock shot through him. The only things giving Lance comfort was his hope that Voltron would come for him soon, the fact that Haggar seemed to grow increasingly frustrated with his defiance. 

“How did you steal the Red Lion?”

“Because we’re better than you”

Another shock, this one longer and more painful. Lance instinctively bit his lip to prevent another scream. 

“Where is your lion?”

“Wouldn’t you love to know?”

Another shock, even longer. Lance, shaking with pain, remained undeterred. 

“Where is the Castle of Lions?” 

“In Space”

Another shock. 

“What do you know about Princess Allura?”

Lance smiled at the thought of Allura, and each of the other Paladins. He found a small bit of comfort in the thought of them. 

“That’s she’s one of the strongest people I’ve ever met.”

“What is the Yellow Paladin’s weakness?”

Lance smiled as he remembered all the wacky adventures he and Hunk went on at the Garrison. Sure, they always ended up in trouble, but Hunk stuck with him. 

“His cooking is too addictive”

As another burning sensation coursed through him, his bite punctured his lip, drawing blood. 

“What is the Green Paladin’s weakness?”

Pidge was the smartest person Lance had ever met. She had probably found a way to locate him by now, right?

“She always leaves her laptop charger around the castle.”

Another defiant answer. Another shock. 

“What is the Black Paladin’s weakness?”

Shiro was the glue that held Voltron together. He had been through so much, but kept fighting no matter what. 

“He makes the worst Dad jokes.”

Black Spots danced around Lance’s vision with the next jolt of electricity. 

“What is the Red Paladin’s weakness?”

Lance’s breath hitched at the thought of Keith. In his exhaustion, he almost couldn’t remember why. 

“He has the worst mullet in the galaxy.”

By now, Lance was stepping in and out of consciousness. 

“And you. What’s your weakness?”

Lance hadn’t been expecting to be asked about himself. He was so tired, and in so much pain. He didn’t mean too, but the words just slid out in a quiet whisper. 

“I want to go home...”

The first truth he had told. He desperately wanted to see the Paladins, or even his Earth family. He just didn’t want to be here, alone and scared. 

Lance grit his teeth, preparing for another terrible shock. He saw the Druid’s hand move to the panel, but Haggar extended her arm, signaling for him to stop. 

“No. We can work with this.” She hissed. 

With terrifying speed, the witch approached Lance, placing both hands on his temples. His eyes widened as a threatening purple glow emanated from her jagged fingertips. Lance suddenly found himself greatly struggling to keep his eyes open, despite his best efforts. The magic making him drowsier with each passing moment. He mumbled incoherently as they dropped closed, and darkness engulfed him once more. 

Lance’s eyes shot open as he found himself standing in a dark abyss. He looked around to see luminescent white orbs floating everywhere around him. Almost instinctively, he reached out and took hold of one that was gliding right before his face. The orb was about the size of a baseball, and felt smooth in Lance’s hands. What interested him the most, was the scene playing inside of the sphere. As if a tiny movie was inside, it displayed himself and Hunk, stealthily maneuvering through the Garrison halls, carefully avoiding the watchful staff. He smiled as he fondly remembered their mission to follow Pidge, which lead to meeting Shrio and Keith. Lance gently released the orb, which suspended in the air once more. He began to investigate the others, each containing a different memory. Lance quickly put the prices together. He was inside his mind. 

“Huh, I always thought my brain would have, like, a bunch of tissue or cells or something in it.” He thought aloud as he paced across the abyss. “Or, I don’t know, little people running around in here.” 

At least he knew that these orbs, would, in fact, exceed the load of a paper airplane. Take that Keith. 

His gloating was interrupted when he caught a glimpse of a distinct shape that stood out amongst the glowing spheres. 

“Oh no...” he rasped, taking an instinctive step back in terror. She was here, some how Haggar was inside his mind. The witch gave him a wicked smile, as she reached out, taking hold of another orb. Lance did not like that one bit. He began to race forward, his footsteps echoing loudly through the silent void. 

His eyes widened in horror as a threatening purple glow emanated from Haggar’s hand. She placed it on the orb, which Lance could now identify as him and Pidge desperately fishing for coins in a large fountain. The purple aura only made contact with the memory for an instant, before it receded back into her palm with a jolt. Confused, the witch attempted to repeat the procedure, only to be met with a blue barrier surrounding the orb. Clearly surprised, Haggar released the memory, trying to calm the anger that was seething from her. 

“It seems your lion prevents any direct manipulation of your memories. Despite being the weak link, you do have a strong bond with your team.”

Lance permitted himself to release a tiny sigh of relief. He didn’t appreciate the comment about his status on the team, but there were much, much bigger problems to worry about. 

“However” the witch continued “that doesn’t mean I can’t turn you against them.”

Without warning, Haggar raised her hands, which shifted from purple to yellow. Lance maneuvered toward her, prepared to strike with his fist. He was mere inches away, when he felt something wrap tightly around his ankle. He  
Lost his footing, slamming hard into the invisible ground beneath him. He groaned as more unidentifiable objects swung around his other ankle and wrists, growing taught and suspending him in the air. A glance upwards informed Lance of thick Yellow coils that bound him, preventing much movement outside of his current struggling. 

“Ugh. Not this again” he groaned, pulling on the strings to no avail. 

“Well, looks like we’re both stuck here. I’d give you a tour of this place if you want to let me go.” Lance dryly snarked at Haggar, continuing to tug at his bonds. 

“No, it seems you are trapped here.” She replied, turning to face a large screen-like structure that had materialized in front of her. It displayed the interrogation room Lance had been in mere minutes ago. She reached out a withered hand, gently touching the surface. It rippled, like a stone being dropped in a pond. Lance could only watch helplessly as the witch stepped forward through the image, disappearing completely. 

Lance gasped as the image was no longer still, instead shifting left and right, looking around the room. As if this was all a movie playing out in front of him. Instead of the clear colors it showed moments ago, everything was tinted with a deep gold hue. What scared Lance the most was when the camera moved downwards, showing his hand, which remained cuffed against the wall. His watched his fingers started to move as Lance became keenly aware of what was happening. 

The Witch has control of his body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed! Feedback and thoughts are always appreciated! 
> 
> Next time: Paladins bust into a Galra base


End file.
